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‘You are not!’ she gently admonished me. ‘And there are plenty of ways to have a family, Alana. You just have to be a little more creative.’ She arched one perfectly manicured eyebrow at me.
‘I guess you’re right.’
‘I am right. Never argue with your mother-in-law,’ she said firmly but with a twinkle in her eye.
‘Okay. Point taken,’ I agreed as I reached for my coffee and took a sip before almost spitting it back into the cup. ‘Oh, this really is terrible,’ I said as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
‘Told you!’
We sat in comfortable silence for a few more moments until Maria spoke again. ‘I wanted to fill my house full of children too, you know?’ she said with a sigh.
‘You did?’
‘Yes. But it took me two years to fall pregnant with Alejandro. It was a traumatic birth. Both he and I almost died. The doctors warned me it would be risky to have another child, so Mateo expressly forbade us from trying again.’
‘And how did you feel about that?’
She looked into the distance. ‘I was annoyed with him at first. But then I saw how blessed my life was in so many ways. Alejandro was the most perfect, beautiful little boy I had ever seen. I had never felt such love in my life as I did for him. I realized that he was enough for me. And the thought of leaving him without a mother was unthinkable.’
‘I can understand that. So, you and Mateo were on the same page eventually then?’
‘Yes. And we always have been ever since. People see him as hard and unyielding, but with me he is different. Soft even,’ she said with a smile and a tear in her eye.
‘I definitely understand that,’ I laughed.
‘Hmm,’ she gave me a knowing smile. ‘I’m sure you do. I see the way my Alejandro looks at you, Alana. You have put a fire in his eyes that I have never seen before. I used to worry about all of those women he dated who had no personality. I wondered if he had closed off his heart to anything coming close to real love, but then he met you. And I have never seen him so happy… so fulfilled as he has been these past few months.’
I felt my heart almost burst out of my chest with happiness and gratitude at her words. ‘Thank you, Maria,’ I said as I blinked a tear away.
‘You are most welcome my cariño,’ she patted my hand. ‘Now, tell me about this young lady who is staying at your house with you now. Mateo tells me she is from Chicago?’
‘Ah, Lucia?’ I said, her name bringing a smile to my face and then I told Maria all about our new houseguest and how she was managing to work her way into Alejandro’s affections too.
CHAPTER 27
ALANA
I walked onto the patio and placed the bottle of wine and two glasses on the table before taking a seat opposite Kelsey, who had her face tilted toward the sun and a huge smile on her face.
She looked up at me as I sat down. ‘This is some amazing place you’ve got here, Alana. I could get used to this,’ she said with a sigh.
‘You’d never leave New York,’ I laughed as I poured the wine.
She shrugged. ‘Maybe I would. For a house like this.’ She grinned at me. ‘Or the right guy?’
‘What?’ I smiled at her. ‘You’d seriously consider moving to LA?’
‘New York isn’t as much fun without you. The landlord has put the rent up again on my apartment. I hate my job. I kind of feel like I need a fresh start.’
‘But you love the city,’ I reminded her.
‘So do you. Or at least you did. Would you move back there now?’
‘No,’ I shook my head. ‘I hated it here when I first arrived, but now it feels like home.’
‘I can see why you love it. It’s beautiful. And Alejandro - well he’s hot!’ she laughed. ‘And he has so many hot bodyguards too,’ she flashed an eyebrow at me.
‘Hmm. So, you and Hugo? Tell me everything.’
